


Hidden Tiger

by Haunt_Haunt_Haunt



Series: Kagetora Arc [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Between Seasons/Series, Bi-Weekly Release, But not one of the Genin, Canon-Typical Violence, Content Warnings in the Chapters, F/M, Genin are adults now, Genin on a B-Rank, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jinchuriki - Freeform, Land of Flowers, Martial Arts, New Squad Seven, Not All of it is Japanese, Pre-Shippuden, Such a Drag, Sunday/Wednesday Release, Those Damn Nara Men, what could go wrong?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:15:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26604304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haunt_Haunt_Haunt/pseuds/Haunt_Haunt_Haunt
Summary: A new Squad Seven has been trained up and is ready for a real mission. They just happen to be the only stealthy squad available when someone threatens the Leaf.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Original Character(s)
Series: Kagetora Arc [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935364
Kudos: 3





	1. The Youngest Nara

**Author's Note:**

> I own none of the things in this fic aside from original characters and concepts. Do not sue. Am poor.
> 
> I will preface this by saying I have seen the entirety of the first series and the first season or two of Shippuden. This is set in that two year period between the two. Also, all Genin are adults cause that makes more sense and is gonna keep me from having to mark the underage tag later, which I hate to do.
> 
> This is gonna be a bi-weekly release on Sundays and Wednesdays, so bookmark, or even better subscribe for that juicy content!

(CW; Light Gore)

“Good,” she said, turning to the three of us. “Again.”

“Please, Suzumi-Sensei. We’re exhausted.”

“And that’s an excuse, why? Not even a year ago, this village was attacked by very dangerous enemies. Do you think your enemies are going to go easy on you, Hikari? Do you think they’ll stop when you tell them to stop?” Suzumi asked. She had a point of course, but she could have been less of a bitch about it. I looked over at Hikari. She was exhausted, which wasn’t normal. Usually the one with the least energy was Yoichi. I glanced over at him. He had just collapsed on the ground where he had stopped, breathing heavily.

“What about you, Tora?” Suzumi asked, turning to me. I didn’t want to answer that, of course. Suzumi pushed us because she wanted the best for us, but we were still new Genin. We’d only been at this for about four months.

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter what I want, Sensei. The other two are done, and a ninja squad of one is ineffective.”

Suzumi frowned. “About what I’d expect from a Nara man. They don’t weigh in one way or the other. Nice try at the squad crack too, but this isn’t the academy. In the ANBU, we often operate in squads of one or two.”

“It’s more that it doesn’t matter which way I weigh in. I say I’m done and you punish me. I say I’m not and my squad is either gonna get uppity with me or get hurt because of exhaustion. If it comes down to it, Sensei, I’d rather my squad not get hurt at all. That’s not an option. So, barring that, I decided to garner us the least amount of pain possible.”

“Which is?”

I smiled. She wasn’t paying any attention to my hands, and I finished the signs behind my back. “I choose the better course of valor, Sensei, and suggest my teammates not get caught. Ninja Art: Shadow Flesh Jutsu!” I shouted, and I felt it happen. I felt the shadows wrap around me and my comrades, and I was on my feet and moving into the forest as fast as I could. If I could make it to the shadows I was safe. I could only hope that Yoichi and Hikari had that realization too, but I also know Suzumi was coming for me. I was the one that kept the jutsu running. If she put me down, it was over. I remembered at about that point that she was paid by the Hokage to kill people. Oops.

“KAGETORA NARA!” Suzumi shouted, and I heard that unmistakable buzzing. I jumped to the side as three shuriken sped by where my legs would have been, and then as soon as I hit the ground, I tucked into a roll, the kunai whizzing over my head. Then I was there. I made it. I felt the shadows cloaking me reach out to the shadows of the trees and blend. I was effectively invisible to the naked eye. When that was done, I made a few more signs.

“Ninja Art: Hidden Chakra Jutsu,” I whispered, and I felt my chakra start to become invisible too. It hid my chakra from anyone searching for it, but it was by effectively turning it off. I had to be careful because it meant that while I was hidden, I couldn’t use ANY chakra. Now all I had to do was not move, and Suzumi would never find me. She skidded to a halt at the edge of the forest glancing around, and I saw Hikari and Yoichi make a run for it towards the town. This was a dumb idea. She was gonna clobber us.

“This was a dumb idea, Kagetora. You have to show up at some point, and when you do, I’m gonna clobber you.”

I did my best not to laugh. Shikamaru would be laughing. He’d probably point me out too. I could see sensei pretty well from here. She was very pretty, closer to our age than I figured she would be, and had medium length deep sapphire blue hair that she let fall in a sheet down her back, and it fell to her shoulder blades. It also had bangs, and there were two front parts that she kept tied up in white ribbons. She was really very pretty, but then I realized that she wasn’t in her typical Konoha-nin uniform. She was wearing her ANBU uniform. She scared me. I was shocked when I was told that my teacher was still active ANBU, but then, they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel. We were the only ones that got stuck with active ANBU though.

I forced myself to breathe in through my nose, and out through my mouth, watching her dark eyes as she scanned the forest, looking for me. Then she did exactly what I’d hoped she wouldn’t. She leaned on the tree. I sighed and let go of the jutsu, and the shadows snapped back to themselves, the ones I had manifested over myself fading away and falling back to my feet.

“That was the smartest thing you’ve done all day.”

“Yeah well, why wait? You were just gonna stand there until I ran out of chakra, and if it were a real battle and not me trying to play hookie, running out of chakra normally means I die.”

She smiled, then straightened. “So he can be taught. Go home, Kagetora. We’re done for today.” She turned and started walking towards the village. I frowned and followed her.  
“It’s not dark yet, Sensei.”

“I would hope not. If it was, I’d worry something was wrong with my eyes. Thanks for checking in with my optometric health.”

I sighed. “That’s not what I meant, smartass. You said practice was over when the last ray of the sun disappeared over the mountains.”

“Yes, but your allies have fled, and I don’t feel like running around the Leaf Village searching for them just for time to be over by the time I’ve found them. You’re not the only person on this team with some brains.”

I frowned, but she had a point. “So I guess we get punished tomorrow.”

“Not you, Tora. Despite what you did, your reasons for it were sound. If it were a battlefield I would have approved. As squad leader, it’s your job to protect the squad. You drew the attention of your enemy so that your allies could survive and carry on the mission, or circle around and help you. You did exactly what you should have, but this was hardly a lethal situation. I was gonna make you clean the Academy bathrooms for punishment instead.”

“If you don’t consider that lethal, sensei…”

She snorted. Even the ANBU Ice Queen had a sense of humor. “Jokes aside, I’m proud of you Tora. It’s only been a month, and you’re already excelling. You remind me of your brother, and this is equal to your father when he was a genin, though the dinosaurs roamed the earth then. I think we’ll be ready for our first mission soon. Hikari and Yoichi have made some strides too. What do you think as a squad leader?”

I shrugged. I didn’t want to be the squad leader. It was such a drag. Making decisions was a drag. Responsibility was a drag. “I guess we can discuss it tomorrow and all agree on how we’d proceed.”

“Fine, but one day, you’re gonna have to start making decisions on your own. Being in charge is taking risks, no matter how paralyzing it seems at the time.” She stopped walking, and I glanced up at my house. I hadn’t even realized she was leading us here. It was a big building, one of the last few ‘paper palaces’ in the village. It was named such because of the shoji that made up the place. It was a fire hazard just waiting for a good spark. “Get some rest, Tora, and if you see the others, be sure to tell them that they better be there tomorrow or I’ll have to find them, and I’m bringing an ANBU squad.”

I did my best to smile and nod, trying to hide the gulp when I thought about that. Suzumi smiled, her lovely face silhouetted by the shadows of the lamps that we used to light up the estate, then she turned and started walking away. I was surprised they let someone as young as her lead a squad of genin, but she WAS a jonin, and she was with the ANBU, so it was her right. Still, they must have been desperate. She may have been an ANBU, but that didn’t mean much for experience.

I turned and started up the steps to my house, kicked off my sandals in the entryway, then headed straight to my room. I didn’t really feel like talking. Apparently, that was out of the question.

“Tora,” my dad slurred from the family room where I had just been going by. I rolled my eyes and went back, leaning on a support beam.

“You drunk, old man? This is gonna be a short conversation.”

“Not too drunk to be irresponsible, just yet. How was practice?” He asked, setting a cup down and pouring more sake into it. I could see my mom in the kitchen, chopping at something. Looked like a fish. I wondered where my brother was.

“Fine,” I said.

“And when is your first mission?”

I frowned. Everyone has been asking that lately. I pulled off my black jacket. It was almost identical to my brother’s except that it was black instead of grey and not beat up. “Don’t know. We’re gonna discuss it tomorrow.”

“Well that’s great. I’m so excited for you,” my mom said, coming into the room and handing me a cup. I took it. Tea, just like I liked it. My mom could be a tyrant, but she cared about us. I figured it’d be hard having to corral three slackers all day. I could understand why she yelled at us so much, and why I was willing to live with it. For moments like this. For having food and tea and a mother that loved us.

“Care for some shogi?” My father asked, gesturing at the board, but I shook my head. “I need to get upstairs and start studying. I might go out for dinner.”

“Hot date?”

“You kidding me? I’d have to introduce them to you at some point,” I said, straightening and heading down the hall, drinking some of the tea. I could hear my father’s laughter as I walked down the hall. Typical. I went up the stairs and settled in my room and shut the door, then glanced around. Just like I left it. I went over and lit the candle on the desk with the lighter in my pocket (We still didn’t have wiring for lights), then grabbed my heater and put it under my desk and turned it on. We did have power outlets and that space heater was great when it got colder out, which it was starting to be. My window overlooked the small bamboo garden and pond, and beyond that just a little of the city before the walls ended.

When I was a kid, those walls had always made me feel so safe, but I remembered that snake tearing through it like it was paper. I remember the Sound shinobi and Sand shinobi going down the streets, and the screams of terror. I remember how I was supposed to evacuate, but Yoichi, Hikari, and I snuck away from the rest and took the fight to the Sound to protect the village. That was the first time I’d taken a life, and I didn’t like how easy it had been. It was easy to kill a man. It was one of the hardest lessons I’d ever learned on the path to being a shinobi. How to live with that, and how to cope. I still remembered him, and probably always would. He would have killed Yoichi if I hadn’t. His kunai was raised. What choice did I have? I had the Nara Jutsu. It was my job to use it.

Possessing someone’s body while your friends watch, and having him slam his own kunai into his neck, and showering your now screaming friends with arterial spray? I curled up a little at my desk, and tried to not feel too sick. It was so easy. His screams echoed in my head. He’d underestimated me, and I knew that someday I’d have to do it again. I also knew that part of me enjoyed it, and that was the part that bothered me the most. I guess that meant I wasn’t a serial killer. I definitely had a problem with it and didn’t want to again. I remembered. I also remembered the ass-beating I’d gotten when it was all over, and I rightfully deserved it. It was stupid and reckless for me to go do that. I could have been killed, or gotten my friends killed. I almost did. It was also the reason that I was promoted to Genin and squad leader of squad 17. Because I was the one that talked Hikari and Yoichi into it.

I frowned and took a sip of my tea, then felt a sharp pain in my forehead, and there was a sound of something dropping into my tea. I reached up and rubbed between my eyebrows, then peered over my desk and down at the walkway. It was Hikari. I knew it was. Her long white hair, gorgeous features stood out, and she was wearing her shinobi clothes. A white kimono style sleeveless blouse with a black obi tied down like a martial arts belt, even though ranking belts weren’t used in her style. She was still considered a master of it, though. The obi was belted low enough to show off a fair amount of cleavage, which she had in spades, not that I really paid attention. Promise. Entirely intellectual and astute. That’s me. She also had white pants that fell to about the middle of her shin, and wore black sandals. On the back of her blouse was the design of the king cobra’s hood, and the symbol of her clan.

“Hey! Is she gone?”

“CAN YOU USE THE DOOR NEXT TIME!?”

Hikari shrinked a little at my yelling, but smiled anyway. She liked it when I yelled. I thought that was weird and Freudian of her, but what, was I gonna say that?


	2. Tiger and Snake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (CW; None)

Hikari promised to use the door while I rolled my eyes and looked for something to wear, taking off my nin-weave and looking for something not so… aggressive I guess? I wore it for training, but didn’t see the need if I was just gonna get dinner. I was digging around without a shirt on when I heard a clearing throat. I did my best to not turn red and pulled on a black tee, then turned to look at Hikari who was watching me with her unsettling eyes. blue cobra eyes. They were even slitted. After all, Orochimaru had to come from somewhere, right? The Natsumori clan had since proven themselves, but those eyes were still unsettling. It didn’t help that albinism wasn’t exactly her choice either, so I know she didn’t want them. It was her clan that did the bulk of the fighting when the Leaf was attacked, all wanting to rip out Orochimaru’s throat themselves. They nearly got him too. The ANBU watching for the Third and Orochimaru were all members of the Natsumori, but the Hokage took precedence over their vengeance, so Orochimaru escaped. Still, I know they were bitter about it.

“You only look better now that you’re training all day. Damn boy. Where do I get a slice of that meat?” She asked, and that’s when I turned red, which made her giggle in delight.  
“Don't let your alligator mouth write a check your hummingbird ass can't cash,” I said, and she snorted. I pulled on my Nara clan jacket then tied my black forehead protector around my neck where I normally put it, and headed down the stairs with her. She wore hers as an arm guard like my brother, and had even gotten a white one which was a rarity and usually a thing in the Cloud Village. “Mom…” I said, heading towards the door.

“Home by midnight!” She said, cutting me off. I walked past the living area and saw my brother. He was hunched over the shogi board and didn’t look, but lifted his hand as I walked by to wave.

I put on my sandals and we headed out of my house and down the street.

“Is Yoichi coming?” I asked.

“I figured we could do dinner by ourselves, but I don’t mind going and getting him.”

I swallowed, trying not to show any emotion. She had the instincts of a snake too. I’d known she’d been into me for a while, and I was into her, but we were on the same squad, and there are very strict rules about dating on the same squad. It makes being a Shinobi hard when tough decisions have to be made. Why was she trying to get me alone now? “I just want to make sure he’s there tomorrow. Sensei was peeved at our escape attempt.”

“She caught you?”

“More like she waited and I could either reveal myself or run out of chakra.”

“Damn. She found out your weakness.”

“It’s not hard to find out. Where’d you want to go?”

“Why don’t you decide.”

“No thanks. It was your idea.”

She rolled her eyes. “Getting you to decide on things is like pulling teeth.”

“Funny, sensei said the same thing.”

“Fine then, Ichiraku?”

“That works,” I said, and we made our way to the best ramen shop in town. Now that Naruto had left the village for now, the ramen shop was actually quiet, and it was up to me, Hikari, and Yoichi to fill the gap that Naruto left and keep them in business, or so Yoichi said. He just didn’t want to have to suffer through his mom’s cooking. After having it myself, I think she could join the ANBU Wolf division and be pretty effective there with her cooking skills. I wondered whether his sister learned because she wanted to or if it was a survival tactic.

We went into the small shop and had a seat. “Good evening Kagetora. Hikari,” Ayame said as we ducked in.

“Hi Ayame!” Hikari said, all smiles. I just nodded and sat with my back to the wall, which was hard since it was a bar style restaurant. I took the end seat and turned in it. Not really paranoia so much as it wouldn’t be unlike sensei to surprise us with wooden kunai while we were eating, so justified paranoia. Hikari had no such hesitation, sitting in the stool next to me and leaning on her arms.

“What’ll you have?” Teuchi asked, dropping some noodles in to cook. There was another customer down at the end of the bar. I’d never seen him before from what I could tell, and that took me by surprise. It wasn’t normal after the attack to have strangers in town. Since that big scare with the carpenter not even a month ago, I was on edge. I glanced down, deciding to keep an eye on him but not stare, and glanced at the menu on the wall.

“They all look so good,” Hikari whispered to herself, then spoke up. “I’ll do the house special.”

“I’ll do the same with an extra side of barbecue pork, and I’ll be taking the bill, Ayame.”

“What a gentleman!” Hikari said, smiling at me. Her eyes were unsettling. I glanced over her shoulder at the man and her face dropped, but only for a second at most. She got the message and pinned the smile back on her face. Yoichi wouldn’t have dropped the smile. He was the smoothest of the team, and he had his finger on the pulse of the group dynamic better than sensei. Makes sense as our medical ninja. “You gonna be romantic like this when you marry me, too?”

“I have no intention to marry you, and this isn’t a date. I’m being polite,” I said, crossing my arms.

Ayame laughed. “Taking care of the bill sounds like a date to me. All you’re missing is flowers, Casanova.”

“You already promised to marry me, Tora. No backing out now."

“I only promised because you threatened to take my arms out of socket!” I said. That got Ayame snorting and laughing.

“Not my problem. A promise is a promise," Hikari said with a smile, but she wasn’t looking directly at me anymore. I noticed, and I hoped the stranger didn’t. If she looked at me it put her back to him. Her ninja reflexes were sharp.

“Ugh. Women,” I said, sounding like my brother and dad. Gross. I was better than that.

“Ugh. Misogyny,” she shot back at me, but she was smiling in that way that I would do whatever I had to to make sure that smile stayed on her face. It wasn’t romantic or anything. It was pure joy. We could have gone back and forth all day, but I settled down. Fun was fun, but I wasn’t sure about our stranger. Teuchi finished up his ramen and turned to Ayame who took it, garnished it, then set it in front of the man. “Here you are, sir.”

“Thank you,” he said in a hoity toity voice and nodded his head, then took the chopsticks and broke them, stirring the noodles. It looked like he ordered the Hokage special which was made famous by the Third. It was the hottest they had, made with some strong peppers that I was sure weren’t legal to own in the Land of Fire. The Third Hokage didn’t mess around with the heat factor. The stranger seemed amiable enough.

“Hey,” I said past Hikari, who glanced at me, then at the man. The man stirred the noodles then looked at me. “Me?” He asked, pointing his own finger at himself.

“Yeah. It’s well past dusk. Who wears their sunglasses at night, and their hat indoors?”

“I don’t answer questions from petulant children,” he said, then slurped up some noodles.

“I’m a petulant NINJA of the Leaf Village actually, and I’m asking you to state your intentions, stranger,” I said, making my voice hard. “In fact, I insist.” Teuchi was cooking, for his part, but was clearly paying attention. He’d kick us both out if we fought in his restaurant. Ayame just frowned and continued cutting vegetables. Hikari was watching him with those eyes.

“I know your clan. Nara, right? Deer farmers. You’re also experts in medicine. Am I correct?”

I didn’t say anything, and his eyes slid over to Hikari. “And you. You wear the heraldry of the Natsumori, but white instead of the standard black, which means you’re the albino Natsumori and heiress of the clan, Hikari.”

“Rude,” Hikari said. I could see her tense. She hated when people pointed it out, mostly because she wasn’t born this way. She was made this way, and that change was recent.  
“So, if you’re Hikari Natsumori, and she called you Tora, that means you’re Kagetora Nara. Where is Yoichi? Was he not invited on your date? Didn’t want a third wheel?” The man asked. I tensed and almost sent my shadows surging across the floor, but Teuchi intervened.

“Ebisu-sensei, They’re just trying to do their jobs. The least you could do is treat them with respect. The attack was recent.”

This… Ebisu… took off his hat, and he was wearing a leaf village bandana. I immediately relaxed though not entirely because he wasn’t Ebisu. Hikari dropped out of her ready pose. “That is fair, I suppose. I’m sorry children,” Fake-isu said

“Wait, I’ve heard of you. You’re the elite ninja trainer,” Hikari said.

“I am, and I just came back from an important mission, which is why I’m dressed this way. I stopped in to get some food, and then I have to go report to the Hokage.”

I frowned, but Ayame put our bowls in front of us, and I took the bill from her then counted out the cost and handed it to her. I liked to pay before I ate. It was a weird tic. Some people said it was a sign of money insecurity. You’d never be sure you had enough. I’d never… really had that problem? My family was far from poor. Probably anxiety. I took the chopsticks in my hand, clasped my hands together with the chopsticks resting on them, then bowed my head and offered thanks to the ancestors. When that was done, I broke my chopsticks. It was a common ritual. Hikari had seen it several times. I wondered why she was watching so interested today.

“I’m sorry to have suspected you for a spy, Ebisu-Sensei. Your disguise was that good. I’ll leave you to your meal in peace.”

“Nonsense. I’m happy to see that the village is in good hands while the Jonin are so busy. No offense was taken,” he said, then stood, put some bills on the table, then bowed. “Delicious as always, Master Teuchi. You’re a true artisan.”

“Thanks. Have a good night,” Teuchi said, and Ebisu nodded then left.

“I’m gonna follow him,” I said quietly, slurping some of my noodles, but not really eating in earnest.

“Tora?” Hikari asked.

“We passed Ebisu on the way here, and he was with Konohamaru. He wasn’t dressed like that. Further, why would he have stopped in to eat? Why would he wait to report to the Hokage?” I asked, sliding off the chair. Teuchi was watching me.

“Do you need back up?”

“No. Go warn Yoichi and Suzumi-sensei. If I need you, I’ll send Tesso.”

“Be careful.”

I nodded.

“I’ll pack this up,” Teuchi said, and I slipped out of the ramen shop and made the hand signs. “Ninja Art: Shadow Flesh Jutsu,” I said, and then my skin darkened and I blended into the shadows. This jutsu wasn’t the best during the day, but at night? Hell, I WAS the night.


	3. Dancing Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Light Gore, Canon-Typical Violence

It took me a minute to find him again mostly because he didn’t look like Ebisu anymore, and he wasn’t in the street anymore. I could see him on top of the buildings, and needed to get closer. I went through the hand signs again. “Hidden Art: Whispering Shadows Jutsu,” I whispered and felt the muffle surround me. This was gonna drain a lot of chakra and I couldn’t hear very well which was the drawback of the jutsu, but I needed to get close. I jumped, bouncing off a few walls, and I landed behind him without a sound. I’m the goddamn night, you son of a bitch. He was within five feet of me. I could have ended this right here, but an image of a sound shinobi with arterial spray and a screaming Yoichi stopped me. I wouldn’t do that again. Not if I had a choice. Instead, I watched.

He had a portable camera and was snapping pictures. I couldn’t see this guy for shit. He was wrapped in bandages from head to toe like that Dosu Kunita guy from the Chunin exams. He wasn’t hunched over though. He jumped. I followed him. He made his way through the city, counting as he went, and more than once, he had to double back. I was in the shadows. He looked at me more than once, but he didn’t see me. My chakra was running low though. It looked like… He was counting steps?

It was weird to count steps like that. He counted them as if he were running and headed right towards the Academy and the Hokage’s house. He got to the stairs of the Hokage’s house, then jumped again, and I had to follow him. He went along a ledge, counting, then found the Hokage’s room. It was empty at the moment. He pulled out a notepad and wrote down a few numbers, then started looking for a way to open the window. Like hell. I had to do something, and I was low on chakra. I couldn’t let him get in the Hokage’s room and hide. Later, I realized that the smart thing to do would have been to watch him hide then go find the Hokage and let her know, but I wasn’t thinking about that. Instead, I dropped all of my jutsu which caused him to turn, then jumped and Rock Lee’d him in the face. Take that jerk. There was a look of shock and surprise on his face because really, what experienced ninja dropkicks someone on a window ledge? I lost sight of him as we both tumbled into the trees and grasses below. I caught a branch and flashed through hand signs. “Summoning Jutsu: Kagenezumi, Tesso,” I said, then summoned the only shadow creature I’d even been able to. It was called a Shadowrat. A tiny rat made of coalesced shadows. This one was a Yokai named Tesso.

“Go find Hikari,” I said as quietly as I could, and the rat scuttled off as a bandaged form flung at me from the darkness. Fuck me. I was out of chakra, and I was the ninjutsu expert. Hikari did the taijutsu. I knew a little, I guess, but not enough to win against an experienced Chunin or possible Jonin. He slammed into me and I tucked in as best as I could to take the fall on the shoulder then slapped the ground as I hit it, slowing my fall just enough then jumped up. Once I was up I took my pose, spreading my legs apart and bending my right knee and putting it back then straightening my left in front of me. I brought my right hand up equal to my hairline, and put my dominant left out in front of me in a fist, ready to fight.

He watched me. “I see the albino taught you some of her fighting style.”

“Man, you’re rude as fuck. Can’t you tell it bothered the lady?” I asked, then lunged, rabbit punching with my right hand. It was a feint and I put my full weight into my left. He caught it and slapped my hand out of the way, but I pressed him then jumped back when I lost my advantage and dropped into the stance that was my namesake. I spread my legs wide and bent my knees, then brought my right hand down low and put my left hand up, curling my fingers and my thumb the same, open palm, not closed fist. He laughed.

“Tiger style. How cute.”

My eye twitched, and I stepped forward, focusing mostly on my footwork which was imperative to this style. Fast and effective footwork paired with strong blows. I wasn’t an expert, but I was Kage-fucking-Tora, and I took the Tora part seriously. I swiped a hand at him from high and he juked me at the last minute, but I jumped and spun in a kick. He had to abort. It kept him from getting behind me. I then spun and jumped, landing a kick towards his shoulder with my left foot, and I keeyah’d so loud I think even Hikari would have been impressed. I nailed his right shoulder, and there was a crunch and he whirled and fell to the ground. I dropped and darted forward, but he jumped back to his feet and shoved his good shoulder into me knocking me away. Then he spun and he hit me with his now limp right arm. I don’t know what he hit me with but it hurt and it cut my cheek.  
I put a hand to it, but things were getting blurry. He laughed and walked towards me. “That's nightshade, in case I came across anyone while doing my job. Whether you win or lose boy, you’re done.”

I turned my head and spit, then dropped back down into my Tiger stance. He watched me, then tried to psych me out. I didn’t move. He was going to keep his distance while he waited for his poison to set in, but I don’t think he saw Tesso which meant that he didn’t know I had backup coming. So long as the Shadowrat didn’t get distracted. That happened easily, especially when food was involved. I wanted to call Nekomata but I think he would have noticed the Shadowcat. Not only that, I didn’t have the chakra, plain and simple, nor had I ever managed to call any of the Yokai other than Tesso.

I went in close, trying to use my speed to outmaneuver him, and I focused on my fists. With only one hand to defend, he wasn’t going to be doing so well. He wasn’t bad, but those bandages were hiding weapons or thorns or something. Every attack that I landed got me cut open. I staggered back grabbing my arm which got a nice neat little hole in it, and he laughed again. “Do you like my Nightshade Armor? Those thorns are especially sharp, and every attack you make puts just a little more poison into your body. How long can you keep it up, I wonder?”

I rolled my eyes. “Could you twirl your moustache any harder, man?”

He blinked at me but I could tell the smile dropped from his face.

“That entire thing was out of the cliche villain handbook. So you got a cool jutsu. Now I know that while I’m gonna get violently ill, I have an hour or so to take you down and get an antidote. Solanum Nigrum or Atropa Belladonna. Did you forget that my family does medicines?” I staggered a little, and the area around was getting bright. My pupils were starting to dilate.

“You stupid fool. How do you plan to beat me?”

I dropped to my knees and threw up and was thankful I hadn’t eaten more, and he laughed. That’s why he didn’t see what I did. He didn’t see me make the sign of shadows. The sign of Nara. “Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!”

His eyes got wide and he tried to jump back, but he was too slow and my shadow latched on. He groaned as his body moved against his will, and I made sure that when I stood I braced myself with my right arm which caused him to brace himself with his and he yelled in pain. He breathed heavily and he watched me as I slipped, but I was doing my best to hold the jutsu.

“Congratulations, you have me in your shadow possession, but what exactly is your plan here? That poison is going to make you unconscious very soon, and I plan to kill you as soon as that happens.”

“Put the fucking cliches away. They aren’t gonna help you when the ANBU get here.”

“ANBU?”

“Yeah, while we were falling from the… thingy… I summoned Tesso. He went for backup,” I said, trying to get my head clear. Was it always this bright in town?

“You’d better hope they get here soon for your sake. You don’t have much left. Moving makes poison go faster through the blood-stream.”

“Should’ve worn… my nin-weave. Stupid Tora. Stupid boy,” I said, then groaned to myself. I couldn’t hold him. I didn’t have anything left. I felt the jutsu fall apart, and I fell to the ground, and he laughed. Well, I tried. Good luck, Leaf Village.

I watched as his feet got closer to me, then another pair of feet landed behind him.

“I’ll give you the honor of last words, Kagetora Nara. Do you have any?” He asked.

“Yeah. Poison-barbed armor. Kick his fucking head.”

“What?” The man asked, and then there was the sound of impact, and he went spiraling away. Very soft hands wrapped around me, and I could see my rescuer. Not much to see behind the cat mask, but I recognized those blue bangs.

“Get him to the hospital,” Suzumi said.

“Yoichi’s already there,” said another voice, then there were other arms around me. I smelled fresh bluebells and saw some white hair. “I have you, Tora. Let’s get you help.”


	4. The Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Horror, Nightmares, Medical Operations, Hallucinations

I woke up in a hospital bed. At least, I’m pretty sure. I was here a lot lately since Suzumi took over the squad and had us train with real weapons. I hated the smell of disinfectant.  
“Well, you’re awake. How you feelin’ son?” My dad asked, and he placed his hand on my head. I didn’t swat it away only because I was too weak to really move. That and there were pink elephants on parade on the ceiling and I was much more concerned about that.

“Elephants…” I said, but definitely didn’t sound coherent.

“Better than dead, son. Focus on me. I’m real.” He took my hand from where it was sitting on the bed and put… something in it. He was running it across my hand. It was rough, but not painful. I managed to move my head and look over, barely. He was running a coarse stone over my palm. “That’s real. Focus on it. Don’t worry about lucidity. I have some questions, alright? If you can’t remember, don’t try too hard.”

I wanted to nod, but that wasn’t gonna happen. Instead, I tried to swallow. My throat didn’t want to work and I didn’t know what to do about it. He left the stone in my hand and I focused on it, gripping it and running my thumb along the coarse edges.

“They call ‘em worry stones out west. You rub ‘em for good luck. I’m gonna give you a sip of water but you can’t have too much. Not until the cottonmouth wears off.” He took a cup with a straw in it and lowered it to my face and I took a small sip, then he placed it back on the stand next to the bed. “So, what did he poison you with?”

“You don’t wanna… know what happened?” I asked, trying to get my brain to slog through the marsh it was in.

“You have a lot of toxin in your body, son. I’d rather you survive and I need symptoms or a toxin for that. We don’t have time for a blood sample judging by the course of the symptoms.”

That made sense. I could tell them after I lived. Why didn’t I think of that? “I think… He said nightshade. My symptoms are… too severe to be… Solanum Nigrum. I think it’s Atropa Belladonna.”

“Hallucinations?”

“Elephants.”

My dad nodded. “Cottonmouth, fever, and you’ve got slurred speech.” He took a small flashlight from his pouch and grabbed at my eyes, then flicked it on. If I could have moved, I would have slapped him.

“No! It... burns us!”

“And dilated pupils, but your sense of humor is fine. Damn son, you’re poisoned and still good at this. I’ll get this to the Hokage and we’ll have an antidote in no time. You rest. Yoichi has been checking on you periodically. You tell him if you need anything,” My dad said, then stood and left. I felt my eyes get heavy and start to fall. When I opened them again it was much darker in the room. The window looked closed and the light was off, and the rock was still in my hand. I also had an IV in my arm. I still couldn’t move, but if that syringe in the IV was what I thought it was, I was gonna be fine.

Maybe. There was the dark shape at the foot of the bed that I had to worry about. It was the size of a person. “Look buddy, I’m a Nara. The dark doesn’t scare me.” I said but I had serious dry mouth so it was probably barely understandable. The thing…. Because the way it moved told me it wasn’t human, cocked it’s head then opened two obscenely large and bright red eyes. That was unsettling. It rolled it’s head from side to side like it was trying to hear me better.

“Who are you?” I asked. The thing chittered then jumped and landed on the edge of the bed. I started to panic because I couldn’t move and rubbed at the worry stone. Focus on the real thing. Focus on the real thing. If it was Genjutsu it couldn’t kill me, and if it was a hallucination then it couldn’t kill me either. It chittered and I could feel it’s weight around my legs as it shuffled closer. This thing had feet but I couldn’t see them. I closed my eyes tight.

It wasn’t real. There was no way it was real. Impossible. When I opened my eyes, those red ones were right above me. It shrieked at me. I heard the shriek echo as I fell into darkness.

I woke up again, this time fighting. I don’t know what I was swinging at, but I had a good guess.

“Hold him down!” I heard a sharp voice say. I recognized it. There was pain in my chest, and I thought that if I looked down, whatever that thing with the red eyes was would be digging into it, but no. There was a sliver of a cut. The painful part was that the Hokage had her hand over my heart and it was glowing. There were arms on several parts of me that pressed me down. I recognized Hikari and Yoichi’s almost immediately, both of them watching the Hokage, and my dad and brother had my legs while the brute strength of someone was pinning down my shoulders. I yelled and fought them mostly in panic. It hurt. It hurt so much. I was pretty sure this was an illusion. Hikari looked at me. She had something wrong with her face. Her features were entirely blank except for her eyes, and I started to panic harder. The Hokage glanced at me, then made a sign, muttered a jutsu, and tapped my forehead, and I fell asleep again.

This next time I woke up to an empty room, thankfully. There was no IV in my arm but I was starving. It was daytime and the window was open and next to me, her head on the bed, was Hikari. I didn’t want to look and not see a face again. I moved a little then poked her shoulder, and she shook her head then looked at me.

“Thank god you have a face” I said.

“Uh… what?” she asked, almost smiling.

“Nevermind.”

She hugged me awkwardly. “We almost lost you, Tora. You died for a minute.”

“I…” That didn’t make a lot of sense. I don’t remember that. I remembered my dad, the weird black thing, then the… I guess restarting my heart? Was that what was happening? Was the black thing Death? It looked like an owl.

“Yoichi!” Hikari shouted, and a few seconds later the door opened. Yoichi wasn’t what anyone expected for a genin. He looked older than he was. He had long brown hair that he kept in a ponytail, glasses, and a handsome face. He could play up the pretty boy trope if he really wanted to. He was more of an ethereal pretty, where I had black hair that was spiky and looked younger. We were very different but he was a close friend to me. He was also wearing hospital scrubs.

“Hey. You’re alive.” He said, smiling, and came in, checking the machines.

“They have you in charge of me?”

He nodded but didn’t speak. He was definitely the quiet type.

“Man, I’m lucky I’m alive with you watching out for me.”

He shook his head, but was smiling. Hikari grinned between us. “My boys. Last time Yoichi came in, you complimented him. That’s when we knew you were in trouble.”

“I don’t remember that, but yeah, that’d be a bad sign.” I did my best to sit up. It hurt. I ached all over. “Why do I hurt?”

“The convulsions during the late stage poisoning. What do you remember?” Yoichi asked.

“Getting my ass kicked. If Sensei hadn’t shown up, I’d have been done for.”

“Yeah, Tesso got to me just in time. We didn’t know where to find you but then a fight was called in at the police and we headed there immediately.”

“Did the guy talk?”

“Unsure. The ANBU took him. He knows now he was followed and from what Sensei could tell us, he told us everything after he left the ramen shop but the rest is a mystery.”

The door slid open. “It was a mystery,” Suzumi-Sensei said coming into the room. “We finally got him to talk.”

“What’d he say?” I asked

She shook her head, put the papers in her hand on the foot of the bed, then came over to me and hugged me, practically burying my face in her tits. I wasn’t gonna complain, sensei or no. “You don’t know when to quit, Kagetora.” She then let go of me. “We thought you were gonna die. How are you feeling?”

“Like I just got out of training.”

She laughed a little. “Then at least you’re honest. I was worried sick about you.”

“That’s kind of you,” I said. “I appreciate the support.”

She nodded and stood. “Back to business however, I need you back on your feet. Like I was saying, we got the prisoner to talk and Lady Tsunade wants to give us a mission. She said that it was actually suited to our squad’s talents at stealth and infiltration. How would you feel about a B-Rank mission?”

“Suzumi-sensei, Kagetora is hurt. I care very deeply for the Leaf, but I also…”

“Is it directly related to the spy I caught?” I asked, cutting Hikari off. Hikari glared at me, but didn’t dare hit me while I was lying in a hospital bed. I took my wins where I could.

“Tora, no,” Hikari said.

“Is it?” I asked again. Yoichi was standing quietly, not weighing in and watching. That was like him. I was the rogue and strategist and Hikari was our fighter, but Yoichi had always been the medical-nin and wasn’t a bad strategist himself. He could keep Shikamaru on his toes when they played Shogi or Go.

“Yes. Directly,” Suzumi said.

“Then as squad leader, I say we’re going.”

“We haven’t been on a real mission yet, Kagetora. We’re not ready for a B-Rank. Besides, we’re genin.”

“We’ve been on at least 8 D-Ranks and 4 C-Ranks. We can handle it,” I said to Hikari.

“If I could?” Yoichi asked, chiming in. “Why us? B-Rank missions are for Chunin and Jonin.”

Suzumi frowned and picked up the papers. “I won’t lie, I was against it personally. They needed a squad that could infiltrate a rival village and the stealth squads are away on their own missions right now. I only relented when they agreed to not count it on your record if we failed.” She took out some papers and handed them to each of us then passed around a clipboard. “Those papers are for your parents, so they know where you’re going to go. This form is for all of you to sign giving consent for the mission. We’ll be leaving once Tora can get around unlabored again.”

I took the clipboard and signed it without a second thought. Something about the way that guy had been and the way he had treated not just me, but our village. It had me fired up. I wanted to figure out who sent him and make sure he couldn’t hurt the village ever again. I’d even decided for the team which wasn’t something I’d normally do. I handed the clipboard to Yoichi who in his way read over the entire page before signing it, then handed it over to Hikari. She just stared at it.

“Hikari, I would like to remind you that you won’t be alone. You have me and we’re not there for combat. If we get into trouble like that we’re supposed to leave. I wouldn’t have approved of this if I didn’t believe that the three of you could handle it.”

She looked down at me. I know she did. I was starting to understand what that night was about. Hikari had finally been ready to give it a try. She wanted to be chunin so that she could actually be true to her feelings. I don’t know why I hadn’t pieced it together.

“Can I speak to Tora before I sign this?” she asked.

“Come on, Sensei. I needed clearance to get Tora food anyway,” Yoichi said, and they both left. Hikari sat down next to me, pulling over the free chair. I didn’t really know what this conversation was gonna entail but I doubted I could just walk away. Might as well listen to her.


	5. Cobra's Hood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Angst

“Why?” She asked.

”Why what?”

“Tora, you almost died. No, you did die. You died dealing with this, and if the Hokage wasn’t here, you wouldn’t have come back. Your heart stopped.”

“Which is why I want to go do this. This is a chance to get stronger. I’m tired of being a child.”

“Anyone with eyes can see you’re not a child. Have you seen yourself?”

“I don’t want to argue. I’ve made my decision.”

“Then unmake it.”

“Wasn’t it you that was telling me that sometimes I just needed to make one?”

“There’s a big difference between deciding where to go on a date and risking your life, Kagetora. They aren’t the same thing, stop trying to trivialize the issue.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it. Arguing wasn’t going to get us anywhere. “Why does it matter? If we don’t strike back, the person that sent the spy is going to know the Leaf is just as weak as they thought it was.”

“Or they’ll think that we killed the spy.”

I frowned. That spy was definitely a chunin himself. I’m surprised he didn’t eat me alive, but then he did, didn’t he? He successfully killed me and it took the intervention of one of the Sannin to keep that from sticking. “You’re deflecting from the main issue. You’re scared.”

Her eyes shifted from her normal blue to vertical slits. “What did you just say?”

“Did you know that a cobra flares its hood when it’s frightened so that it looks bigger and more threatening to whatever is coming to eat it? That’s what the designs on the hood are for. False eyes. They tend to threaten to get what they want. They can’t help it. They understand what death looks like.”

“You’re pushing my patience. Cobras are a leading cause of death for tigers too, Kagetora. Watch yourself.”

“You won’t kill me, and you’d never hurt me, Hikari.” I met her eyes. She tried to keep them hard, but there was a hint of fear behind them. “So stop stalling. What do you really want to say?”

She frowned and fiddled with her obi. She definitely had something to say, but I didn’t really know what it was. I reached over and grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand, fiddling with the straw then sipping from it. “It must be hard seeing me laid up,” I said.

“Yeah. It hit me a little harder than I thought it would.”

“And you were worried I’d die.”

“I was.”

“Because you care.”

She blinked at me. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, then sipped more water. I didn’t know, but I did now. “You’re a valuable member of my team, and one of my best friends.”

“But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”

“Shut up, Tora,” she said, frowning. I did. It wasn’t wise to keep picking at Hikari when she was feeling vulnerable. She was telling me to shut up as a courtesy. It was in her tone. That’s how I could tell. “It’s really complicated. I want you to let me get the whole thing out before you talk and ruin my mood by being dumb.”

I did my best to slide over and make room for her. It wasn’t that odd. We’d been friends for a long time, and she’d sat by me before so stop making it weird already, Tora. She smiled then stood and settled down next to me, slender and frail-looking. She wasn’t. She could throw me out the window. She had whipcord muscle like a snake. The pale skin and white hair belied who she actually was. I wrapped my arm around her more for comfort than anything. I was still really sore. She didn’t seem to mind. The hospital bed wasn’t big, but it fit both of us. If a nurse came in they were gonna throw a fit.

“So, I’ve been thinking about this for awhile,” she said, resting her hand on my thigh just above the knee. It seemed to be unconscious, but I was still a young male, and it was still distracting. She was distracting. She always had been. “I noticed that we never really… dated, I guess. Not for any reason other than we were too busy with our studies. We were both too focused on becoming ninja. Now, here we are, and we even got teamed up together. I don’t know what to think about that. Ninja squads are composed of those that compliment each other. I was just wondering if we’re in a squad now, is it a good idea to even consider the idea of dating? Not to mention that it’s forbidden, which isn’t helping matters. I’ve been thinking about it ever since the assignment.” She leaned on me a little, crossing her arms in front of her. Her body language was discomfort. What about it was uncomfortable? “And then you almost died on us, and I was watching all of that go away. I don’t want to have to see that happen ever again.”

I sighed. I was pretty sure she was done. She always looked away from me when she was done talking. She didn’t want to read me when I talked. Said it was distracting. “Hikari, that’s part of life as a ninja. Every day could be our last and mine came last night. If it hadn’t been for the Hokage I’d be dead. This is the reality we signed up for when we decided to become ninja. I appreciate the sentiment, and I care about you too, but we have to...” I trailed off. It was getting hard to think again.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a headache,” I said, putting my hand to my head and closing my eyes.

She got off the bed and I heard her call down the hall for a medical-nin, who came in and gave me a once over and gave me a pill to help. I was still not in great shape and I needed to rest. Yoichi came back in with a tray of food which was really just white rice with a small amount of chicken. I did my best, but my body was in revolt. I managed to keep it down, but it was an ordeal. The headache went away at least. The body doesn’t like it when you deprive it of food. Apparently I had only been out for a day. Yoichi sat with me the whole time, not saying much of anything. That was fine. We weren’t always super talkative. It was just as rare to be able to sit in complete silence with someone else and be comfortable.

Hikari stayed too, but there was no more to the conversation. She got as close to saying that she loved me as she could, and I had to admire that. It took a lot of her pride to admit her feelings, and I was about to say something about it, but then the damn headache set in. Would it be so bad to date? Yes. We were shinobi on the same squad. We needed to keep our distance and not let our emotions get the better of us lest it compromise a mission. The problem was they already had. I wondered who I could even talk to about it. Sensei would listen, but I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. There was no way I could talk to my dad. He’d just laugh. Shikamaru was a good guy, and I cared about him, but he wasn’t the kind of person that you could go to with relationship problems. He just complained how much of a pain girls were, and that wasn’t helpful. Maybe… I wasn’t sure. Maybe I could talk to her, but I liked her too, and I was pretty sure she was into me. That was complicated as well.

After a few hours, Hikari went home. Yoichi took my vitals one more time, smiled at me, then also left and that left me alone. Suzumi came in a bit later to check on me and picked up the clipboard.

“Sorry. I wasn’t able to finish the conversation with Hikari, and I don’t think she signed,” I said. “I guess that means I can recover at my own pace.”

“What do you mean?” Suzumi asked, then turned the clipboard and showed me. I blinked. Three names. She’d signed it? Why had she signed it? “Was there something wrong?”

“I… I guess not. I didn’t think Hikari would sign it.”

“That girl is stronger than you give her credit for,” Suzumi said with a wink. “I already talked to your dad. He’s excited for your mission, and when you have time, he said there was a new jutsu that he wanted you to master before you left. Shikamaru learned it during the Chunin exams, and he figured that sure you were young, but you were ready.”

“Which one?”

“Shadow Strangulation?”

I frowned. “K,” I said. She watched me for a moment. “Take it easy, Kagetora. They said you’re free to leave when you feel up to it. You’re healed. Just take it easy.”

“Good. I was going stir crazy sitting here.”

She smiled then walked out, taking the clipboard with her and giving me privacy. I pushed the blanket off of me and worked to stand. It was a challenge, but I managed it. I crossed the room and stripped out of the patient gown, then tugged on my underwear, pants, and a clean shirt. After that, I stooped down and did my best to get my sandals on. It was excruciating, but I was eventually dressed. Lastly, I pulled on my Nara jacket and tied my forehead protector around my neck and styled my hair. I did what Kakashi-Sensei did, but my hair was black and I kept my headband around my neck. It naturally fell forward a little, but that was fine. I hobbled out of the hospital and down the stairs. They checked me out at the front, and I tucked my hands in my pockets, making my way towards somewhere that wasn’t the hospital.

The city hadn’t changed much as I made my way over the bridge that spanned the river that ran through town. It was a pleasant evening. The sun had already gone down and it started to get a nip in the air, but it was still warm enough that kids ran around and people went about their business. I exhaled, enjoying the smells of the Village. The Village I was willing to die to protect.


	6. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Teenage Feels, Realtionship issues

I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. It didn’t matter much. Even if I was walking, training was done for me for a while. At least a few days while the antidote finished its job. I wandered towards the woods on the edge of town crossing the bridge for the river, and found myself in a familiar place. The training ground. Three large posts in the ground, and a big open area. Usually it was pretty quiet. Tonight was a little different because there was someone else here.

She wore a puffy down jacket with leggings, and she had her hair parted much like Suzumi, but without the ribbons, and her hair was more of a dark bluish-purple. Hinata Hyuga was one of the few people I actually was wary around. It wasn’t just because I was crushing on her, though that was part of it. It was also because her Byakugan could see through all of my tricks. It was the whole reason I developed the Hidden Chakra Jutsu. To counter the Byakugan. For once though, she wasn’t wearing her puffy jacket. It was discarded on the ground, and she was wearing a nin-weave shirt not unlike my own. I tried to stay silent, but I knew she’d see me. That was how the Byakugan worked.

She whirled to me, her face pink, and she lifted her fist to her mouth. “Oh. Kagetora.”

“Don’t stop on my account,” I said, grinning. “I’ll leave and let you get back to it.”

“Umm, you don’t have to.”

I walked over and jumped onto one of the posts, letting my legs hang down. There was enough room for both of us. These things were huge. She didn’t join me though. She just kept blushing away. It was cute as hell. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a thing for me too, but I’d seen how she looked at Naruto so I kept my distance, not that I really wanted to. Naruto deserved a chance to be happy though, and I had Hikari, apparently. Man, feelings are dumb. “So what are you up to this late, Hinata?”

“I was umm… I was practicing.”

“Practicing? Byakugan?”

“Yes. I want to do better, and my Protecting Eight Trigrams needs work.”

“Do you need a sparring partner?”

“No offense… you’re… a little wobbly?”

I sighed. She had me there. If she hit me just right, she could do more damage. I needed to be careful, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t bored as hell. “Fair point. I want to show you something, though. I need your Byakugan for it.”

She frowned. “What?”

“I could do this with Neji, sure, but I like to practice with you. I just need you to watch.”

She nodded and put her hands together. “Byakugan,” she said, and the veins appeared around her eyes. I stood, then made the sign of the shadow.

“Hidden Chakra Jutsu,” I said quietly, and I felt it kick in, lowering my chakra to the lowest possible levels without killing me. When it was done, I held my hands out, and she put hers to her mouth. “Your chakra! It’s gone!”

“No, it’s still there. I developed this in case I ever got in a fight with a Hyuga. It allows me to hide my chakra network so you can’t find me with the Byakugan. It needs some work, but what do you think?”

“That’s amazing, Kagetora! Did you develop this yourself?”

“Well, it’s a variation on the Shadow Flesh jutsu and works on the same principles. I just tweaked it some.”

“It takes real talent to create your own jutsu though. That’s really impressive.”

“It has a weakness, actually,” I said, then let my chakra flow again. She blinked. It must have been like I lit up like a torch or something.

She seemed to be thoughtful. “I’m not gonna get much work done with you hanging around. Do you want to have dinner with me?”

I blinked. I uh… I wasn’t expecting that. I mean, yes, but what would Hikari think? She practically confessed her love for me today, and I had planned to talk to Hinata about it, but this was out of left field. I also couldn’t say no. Hinata wasn’t the bravest person in the world, and if I said no, it might do worse for her self esteem. I also really wanted to go with her, and that wasn’t helping. You know what, screw it. I’d had a rough past couple days.

“Sure, on one condition,” I said, hopping down from the post and scooping up her jacket then offering it to her.

“Umm, okay, what condition?”

“You let me pay.”

She turned a little pink and started fidgeting. “Well uh… that would mean… It’d be a date.”

“It’d be a date anyway, but would it bother you if it was?”

“I uh…” She turned really red, and she got a shy smile. “I think I’d like that.”

Finally, something was going right. “Where do you want to go? I don’t want to do ramen again. Ramen got me poisoned.”

“What about Yakiniku Q?” She asked, putting on her jacket. “Barbecue sounds better anyway.”

“Sure,” I said, and we started walking. “I wanted to ask you out for a while now, but Naruto was a thing, and I didn’t want to complicate your feelings.”

“Thanks… but he’s gone. I understand why. I support him and I will get strong, but you’re here, and he’s not, and may not be back for some time. I can’t just pause my life.”

I smiled. “That’s a mature way to think of it.”

“It’s not like I’ve ever been out with a boy anyway, and who knows, maybe we’ll be better friends if it doesn’t work out.”

“Well, that’s no way to think of it,” I said, hopping on the rail of the bridge and putting my arms out while I walked. I was in pain, but I needed to work on my balance. She watched me.

“What do you mean?”

“Considering it won’t work out. That means you factored failure into this.”

“I was just thinking it through.”

“Nah, that’s not what I meant. If you don’t allow anything bad to come from this, then no matter how it ends, nothing bad will happen. There’s no failures. Only degrees of success.” I hopped off the rail when we got to the other side. “I have some baggage here, though.”

She frowned. “Like?”

I sighed and rubbed at my neck. “Hikari.”

“But you’re in the same squad. It’s not allowed. For now, there’s nothing she can really take offense to, and if she does, just tell her that your life also has to go on. I like Hikari. I want to be her friend. I don’t want her to hate me because I decided to go on one date.”

My phone buzzed. I glanced at it. It was from Yoichi.

YoYu: Hospital?

TigerBlood: Got bored. On a date.

YoYu: Hikari?

TigerBlood: Don’t know. She's gonna be mad tho.

YoYu: I’ll take care of it.

That was it. We didn’t need to communicate any further. Yoichi and I just had that kind of relationship. I slid the phone back in my pocket. Hinata was tapping at hers too. I shoved my hands in my pockets, walking. She had a little charm hanging off of it of her clan, and it was adorable. She tapped a few more times then slid it back into her pocket. “So, Hikari?”

“I think I’m gonna let Yoichi take this one. He has a way with her. I’m not gonna let it be a problem.”

Hinata smiled. “Good. I appreciate it.”

I opened the door for the restaurant and we went inside and were promptly seated. It didn’t take us long to order or be served either. We got a meat plate, a vegetable plate, and a sauce, and it was at the table before we really got to talking again. I didn’t waste any time, grabbing my pair of sticks and laying out an assortment on the grill, then pulled over another empty plate that I could put the cooked food on when it was done.

“Tell me more about… was it the Hidden Chakra Jutsu?” Hinata said.

“Well, you saw it in action. It stops the chakra flow in my body and cloaks it, preventing anyone that can see chakra from seeing it. I developed it as a counter to the fearsome Byakugan. If you can’t see my chakra or chakra points, then how do you know where to strike me? If I’m hiding, how do you know where to find me?”

“It sounds useful, but limited. I don’t suppose you can access your chakra when it’s turned off.”

“Yeah, that’s the drawback.” I scratched above my eyebrow. “I can’t do any ninjutsu or genjutsu when it’s active. All I have is Taijutsu. I’m also learning Kenjutsu to counterbalance it as well, but I’m not the best, and with Hayate gone…”

“Yeah, I can see how that’d be a struggle. Isn’t Yugao also skilled, though?”

“It’s Yugao that’s teaching me, actually. She said that I’m still definitely a Genin at kenjutsu, but experienced at it. I was gonna take a sword with me on our next mission.”  
“You have a mission?”

Oops. Probably shouldn’t have brought it up. “I probably shouldn’t talk about it.”

“Does it have to do with your trip to the Emergency Room?”

“Yes. That’s all I can say.”

Hinata nodded. “I understand.” I reached over with the chopsticks and started removing some of the meat when it was probably medium rare and placed it on the empty plate. Hinata helped me take off the vegetables, peppers and the like, and then the server came over with a big bowl of rice for us. “The Byakugan has a weakness too. It has a blind spot.”

“Really? It’s hard to notice.”

“It’s not all that obvious. I can’t say much, but it’s normal for jutsu to have weaknesses. That’s why there’s no perfect one.”

I put some rice in a bowl, then added some meat and veggies and stirred it, then added a bit of the teriyaki that we ordered with it. I then stirred it again and started to eat, taking my time. “What rank is your mission? You’re a genin, so it shouldn’t be higher than a C.”

“Yeah, it’s a B-Rank.”

Hinata put down her bite and looked at me, confused.

“They needed a stealth squad, and ours is the most skilled in the village that’s still IN the village. Don’t look so surprised. I’m good at my job.”

“Right, I’m sorry,” She said, then took a bite of her food. It was really good, and though neither of us were eating especially fast, it was gone in about fifteen minutes. Granted, I hadn’t had real food that wasn’t rice (And was starting to regret that I didn’t just eat rice,) and she had been training before I met her, so it made sense in a way. I took the check and slid some money inside. It’d been a pleasant evening, and I was certain something horrible was on the way.

After a few more minutes, we headed out of the restaurant. She fiddled her hands again. I kept mine in my pockets. It was comfortable that way. “Umm… Kagetora?”

“You can just call me Tora. What’s up?”

“Can I… Can I touch you?”

I didn’t see why not. Maybe it’d distract me from my rolling stomach. “Sure.”

She reached out and took my hand from my pocket, then took it on the way back to her house. I tried to play it cool, but it was really hard because even though I have a calm and cool demeanor, I am absolutely a dork, and there was a pretty girl touching me.

We got to the big wall and the arch that announced that we were now at the Hyuga Estate. Hanabi, Hinata’s sister, and she was younger than me, was sitting on the porch. She saw us approaching and stood, and Hinata smiled, then turned to me. “Thanks for walking me home, Tora.”

“No problem,” I said, and she glanced around, hugged me almost like she was afraid to or was doing something she shouldn’t, then let go of my hand and turned, walking over to Hanabi. I waited, watching.

“He’s cute.”

“Hanabi!” Hinata said, mortified. I smiled, waiting for them to go inside, then turned and headed down the street, shaking a cigarette from the pack in my pocket and lighting it. It was starting to turn off colder than it had been. I hoped wherever we were gonna get shipped off to, it’d be warm.


	7. Leaving the Leaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Non-graphic body modification/Piercing

Hinata and I went out once more in the week before I fully recovered. Nothing else really exciting happened though Until we were summoned by the Hokage. I was the last to arrive, of course. The Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, was sitting behind the desk, and Iruka was next to her. Suzumi, Yoichi, and Hikari were already there.

“It’s about time. I thought I was gonna have to drag you out of bed,” Suzumi said.

“I’m a Nara, sensei. We don’t show up to anything on time.”

“That attitude’s not a good one. Maybe don’t be like the other slackers in your family?” Iruka said from across the room.

“The Nara are an honorable clan, Iruka-sensei. We know our place,” I said.

“Alright, enough,” Tsunade said, cutting us off. “Let me give you the details of the mission. You’ve already lost valuable time because of the recovery period. The man that you captured was a ninja, but we’re not sure from where. That plant-based jutsu points naturally to the Land of Greens, or it’s neighbor, the Land of Flowers. That’s all we have. We don’t know, and he didn’t tell us. What we do know is that he was a Chunin, and that he was trying to assassinate me. What you caught him doing, Kagetora, was charting the quickest route to my room so that he could either assassinate me, or if he failed, he could send that information back to another assassin. Logic would state he had a messenger bird here, but he doesn’t. Not that we know of. So, your mission Kagetora Nara, Hikari Natsumi, Yoichi Yuhi, and Suzumi Sohma, is to find out where this assassin came from, who he’s working for, and make sure that no other assassins are sent. This will be a dangerous mission. You all need to be prepared. Gather your belongings, and I expect you to leave today.”

I bowed, and we split and met at the gate an hour later. We even had a parting group. Apparently Shikamaru had arranged for a few people to show up, namely him, Hinata, Kurenai, Hinata’s sensei, and Yugao. I had expected Shikamaru, but the other three were a surprise.

“Oh look, a farewell party,” Suzumi said.

“I’m here on mentor business. I won’t be long. Sorry,” Yugao said, bowing slightly to Suzumi, in respect to the older ANBU officer.

“I’m here to see my brother,” Kurenai said, standing beside Yoichi.

“And I got clan stuff. Hinata just wanted to see them off,” Shikamaru said and walked forward. “Jacket.”

I sighed and took it off, passing it over.

“I’m confused,” Yoichi said.

“It’s tradition in the clan. On the day of your first mission, your jacket is taken. The simplified clan symbol is removed and the full one is put on it’s place. This is a very special thing we’re seeing. Kagetora is now seen as a man among his clan.”

“Alright. Eyebrow or ear?”

I frowned. “Are you doing the piercing?”

“I took the class on it. You’ll live.”

I sighed. “Eyebrow. What a drag.” I walked over to a rock and sat. This was the hard part. Ritual piercing. I presented my eyebrow and closed the eye, and Shikamaru pulled a kit out from his pocket and dug through it, finding the needle he needed. It was relatively quick, but it still sucked to watch him take a lighter and get the needle red hot, then bring it near my eye. I took a breath, and the fucker plunged it through while I was taking the breath. He grabbed my chin to make sure I couldn’t pull away, and I yelled, cause that shit hurts. Then there was a silver barbell in its place. I lifted my hand and used some of my medical ninjutsu to heal it.

He grinned, then handed me a ribbon. This was the final part. I bunched up my hair in a ponytail and tied it off with the band, then put the forehead protector on my forehead where it went. “All done. Welcome to the clan, kid.” He stuck his hand out, and I took it. He hauled me to my feet to a smattering of applause, and I pulled him in for a quick hug. He accepted it, then took a step back. Yugao stepped forward.

“Mine’s not such a big deal, but I had this rushed for your mission. Consider yourself an official Kenjutsu adept.” She extended a katana handle to me, and I pulled it gently from the sheath. It was made in the Leaf Village style with a rounded blade guard and black leather for the hilt. I wouldn’t have expected less, honestly. There was a charm hanging off the end. A Nara clan symbol. I put the sword back in it’s sheath, and she spun it, held it in both hands, then kneeled and offered it to me. I took it with a bow of my head, then tied the silk sash it came with around my chest so I could easily reach the sword with my left hand and draw it. “I had some of the shards of Hayate’s blade put into the metal for yours, so there’s a piece of him with you. May it serve you for a lifetime.”

I bowed. “Thank you, sensei. I will wield it proudly.”

“That makes it my turn, I guess,” Kurenai said and pulled a small kunai necklace from around her neck and handed it to Yoichi. “Congratulations brother.”

Yoichi nodded and put it around his neck. Hikari was watching all of this silently, but I knew what she was thinking. I’d know her for a long time. All these people were here to support us, and she had no one.

“Umm… Hikari?”

Or so I thought.

“Yes?” Hikari said to Hinata, putting on her best smile and trying to make it not as brittle as it most definitely was.

“Umm… I know it’s not much, and it’s not ceremonial…” Hinata reached into her coat and pulled out an ointment container. “This is a special sun cream that I was working on. I think I got it just right. It should help with your condition.”

Hikari looked stunned, then like she was going to cry. “That’s… That’s very sweet of you.” She reached out and took it gently. “Thank you, Hinata.”

“Of course. Take care of Tora as well.”

She grinned. “I’ll drag him back if I have to. He’s safe in my hands.”

“Alright kids,” Suzumi said. “We gotta move if we’re gonna get to our destination.”

They all waved to us as we set out, and I passed the gates of the village and headed towards a new land.

It didn’t take long before the walking started to get painful. It was a quiet journey too. Suzumi and Yoichi didn’t talk much on a normal day, and now we were all hiking together. I decided to go over the hand signs in my head, practicing them as we walked and making sure I had them down, especially the ones for Kenjutsu. My strength in Kenjutsu was limited for now, but I knew at least twelve signs and how to do them with the sword. Ne, Ushi, U, Mi, Uma, Hitsuji, Saru, Tori, Inu, I, Tatsu, and Tora. They were the signs of the Rat, Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar, Dragon, and Tiger, respectively. I never did understand why the names of the sign were in a different language when we could just say them in english, but I wasn’t picky. It was kinda fun to speak a different language.

I flashed through the signs quicker and quicker, muttering to myself. Hikari was watching me out of the corner of her eye. Yoichi just shook his head.

“Tora,” I said. So did Suzumi, and I looked at her. “You’re building up your chakra. Are you okay?”

“I was practicing the signs, Sensei.”

“I know I taught you more than twelve, and you’ve never had an issue.”

“Those are my Kenjutsu signs, specifically.”

“Well, I won’t tell you not to practice, but now that you can awaken your chakra, the signs are building it up. I don’t think I ever told you about that. That was my fault.”

“What do you mean, Sensei?” Yoichi asked.

Suzumi went off to the side of the road, then set her pack down. “All of you pay attention. Feel for it,” she said, then squared her feet and flashed through the same signs that I did, but she was much faster at it than I was. I still had a lot to learn. She finished with the tiger sign and held it. “Do you feel it?”

Hikari spoke. “You built up chakra, but not much.”

“Right. Because the signs in that order, in the order that Tora was using don’t do anything. I mean, they can, but I don’t have a jutsu in mind, so they build it up, but I’m not gonna use the chakra. She stood like normal. “Notice anything now?”

“It’s the same. Nothing’s changed,” I said.

“Right. That’s what I’m getting at.” She turned and got into her bag, pulling out a soda bottle. We all had some soda. It was kind of our thing. We all had a sweet tooth for cola. She turned it to us and shook it a little. “Imagine that this soda just built up chakra. What would happen if I opened it right now?”

“It’d explode. Soda would go everywhere. It’d be a waste,” Hikari said.

“Good! It’d be a waste to spill this soda all over the ground. How do I keep that from happening?”

“Sensei, it sounds like we’re five,” I said.

“Don’t complain, Tora. You should have been taught this in the academy in your basic chakra lessons when you were five.”

“You’d want to either put the soda down, or if you’re impatient, you could release the pressure in intervals, but there’s still a risk you’d lose some soda that way.” Yoichi said.  
“That! Very good.” She did just that, releasing the pressure slowly. “So to make the metaphor clear, you are the bottles, the chakra is the soda, and a hand sign is a small shake of the bottle. You can do it for a while and not have any problems, but if I kept shaking this bottle, eventually the pressure would build to the point that the cap would blow off, and all of that soda would have spewed everywhere. You need to let your chakra settle or release it slowly in order to keep it from harming you adversely. That’s why you can practice your hand signs, but I’m gonna teach you a trick to release the chakra slowly and center it back into yourself. It’s a technique taught by the ANBU for ninja on the move.”

She made the U sign, the Sign of the Rabbit, and I did it too. “Now breathe in, center, and envision your chakra going back into the well at the pit of your stomach, then… Release,” she said, and I felt her chakra build up fade away, and also felt a small amount leak out into the atmosphere.

I focused on my own, doing what she said. I envisioned the chakra network in the way Hinata had described it on our last date, and I envisioned my chakra going back to the pit of my stomach. “Release,” I said, and I felt it. It was sluggish, but I felt the energy buildup go back in, and felt… it almost felt like a mist from my chakra points which was the leak she mentioned.

Suzumi smiled. “Good. It’s not a hard technique, but we don’t like to teach it because people forget that that chakra release still releases some chakra into the air. It leaves a trail if you do it constantly, like breadcrumbs, and it can just straight run you out of chakra over time, so don’t get into the habit. That’s for an emergency situation. The best thing you can do is meditate and get rid of the chakra that way. As for you, ninjutsu and genjutsu users, I have more. The chakra build up is great before a battle, because you can have a jutsu loaded and ready to go without worrying about hand signs. You should still use them to focus, but you don’t have to”

Yoichi and I nodded. He took off his own pack and sat down with his back to a tree, digging around until he found a granola bar. I sat down too but didn’t eat anything. At least it wasn’t incredibly hot.

“As for you Hikari, how has the training on your own been going?”

“Let me punch Tora, and I’ll show you.” She said, looking at me. She looked hurt, like I thought she might. That was better than I thought Yoichi could do.

“Not nice.” I said.

“That’s not nice,” Suzumi said, agreeing with me.

“It’s progressing well.”

“Good to hear. Let’s take a small rest here, and then we’ll start moving again. It’s gonna be a four day walk to the Land of Greens, and we can talk more about chakra control on the way. Now that Tora is mobile, we can actually focus on training again.”

Hikari came and sat next to me by the tree. She also took her pack off, and we sat for a few minutes, resting our legs. “Hey Tora?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not mad. Okay, I’m mad, but not really upset, and I’ll get over it. I think you two are a good match. She even thought about me when my parents didn’t, and she gave me something that I’d been needing for awhile. She hardly knows me, so I guess I wanted to say that it’s okay, and I approve.”

“Thanks Hikari.”

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, which made me turn red in that way she liked, then pulled out her own granola bar.


	8. Land of Greens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW; Rape References, Canon-Typical Violence

It was a long trip. True to her word, Suzumi went over the basics of chakra control again. It was a very important skill, and there were new insights to draw now that we knew more. It was important to go over the basics once in a while to see if you could glean new insights, and the day you couldn’t was the day you reached mastery. We stopped just as we crossed the border to the Land of Greens.

“Why are we stopping? We’re here, right?” Hikari asked.

“We’re in the Land of Greens, yes, but the capital is far away, and most of the small villages in this land don’t have an inn. We’ll camp and start our investigation tomorrow.” Suzumi said. I dropped my pack and started to gather rocks while Yoichi went out and found some dry wood. By the time I had finished the firepit, he’d already come back with enough twigs and brush to get started, and I went with him to get more wood while Hikari and Suzumi started the fire and got the tents set up. We did all this without having to be told like a well oiled machine.

I pulled the hatchet from my bag and Yoichi put his hands together and made a few sings. “Ninja Art: Find Decay Jutsu,” he said, and then looked around before walking in a direction. I followed him, and we got to a felled log. It wasn’t green, but it wasn’t rotted either. Perfect. I took the hatchet, spun it in my hand, infused a little chakra into it, then went to work, slowly hacking large chunks of it off. It didn’t take more than five minutes.

“You’ve been quieter than usual.” I said.

“I’ve been thinking,” he replied.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No. I don't want to worry anyone, but I need to.”

I looked at him, and he smiled. It was warm and friendly, but I could tell he was still hesitant. “I guess I’m not the first choice.”

“No, Tora. I’m sorry. I’d rather talk to my sister, but she’s not here and I’m the team strategist, so I guess you’ll do.”

“Ouch man.”

“I’m sorry. I like you, but I know how you think, and all I have are questions, and not answers.”

“I guess let fly then,” I said, then handed him the hatchet, and he went to work like I had.

“Why? We know they were trying to assassinate the Hokage, but it seemed like a lot of planning on the part of the assassin. They charted and counted steps, right?”

“The Hokage said that he was plotting an escape route.”

“Do you really believe that Tora?”

I frowned and rested my back to a tree. “You think he was casing the Leaf?”

“I think that was a job, and he encountered an opportunity to assassinate the Hokage and took it. If you weren’t there, he might have very well succeeded. The question is why did he break from his directive? No ninja would take a risk like that.”

“Because whatever organization he’s a part of rewards initiative, I think. You noticed he didn’t have a headband?”

Yoichi nodded once. “That concerns me too. He was trained in ninja arts? You’re certain?”

I frowned. “No, but I don’t know what else would have caused those spines. The ANBU didn’t find any on him when he was taken, and he was covered from head to toe in bandages. He was also skilled in transformation jutsu, and that I do know. He was a spitting image of Ebisu-sensei when we met him in Ichiraku.”

“That’s another question. Why would a spy stop in for a meal in the place he was casing and risk exposure? Was he that confident or arrogant? I don’t think so.” Yoichi stopped and handed me the hatchet. I tucked it into my belt then scooped up a handful of the wood we gathered. He did the same. We only needed enough for a few more hours.

“So what do you think?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I asked you. I also know that you’re biased.”

I thought about it as we walked towards the fire. Then it clicked. How was he supposed to get these photos and details back to someone without a carrier bird? Also, while cellphones were reliable in the Leaf village, they didn’t work if you weren’t there. It was Leaf village pioneered and there was only one cell tower. The antenna was in the Hokage's office in the center of the village. “He was waiting for something.”

“Who was?” Hikari asked, coming into view. She had a pot already on the small fire they’d made. I dropped my pieces of wood and tucked a few into the fire under the grate she had set over it. That in itself was suspended by bricks.

“The assassin.”

“The ANBU thought so too,” Suzumi said, finishing setting up the tents. “We just don’t know what.”

“I think his carrier bird was only going to be around for a limited time,” Hikari said.

“Or he was going to steal a Leaf Village hawk. We wouldn’t miss one.”

“Quite a mystery. There’s no use worrying about it now, though. We’ll have our answers in during the investigation.”

I pulled over the kettle and dumped the contents of my waterskin in it, then set it back on the fire. We could at least have tea, and if we were in town, it wouldn’t be a big deal to fill it. “It’s interesting anyway. Do you really think the Land of Greens is gonna know anything?” I asked.

“I think the culprits are gonna be the Stone Village or the Cloud Village, since those are what we’re close to. We’re almost smack in the middle of them, but I hope not. If one of the bigger villages is sniffing around, that can get us in some trouble. That means they know we’re weak.”

“If that was the case, he would have had a headband on an official mission. Those are the rules,” Hikari said.

“I wish that were the case, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone went full covert and didn’t follow the rules. If they didn’t want to get linked back to their village, that’d be the case. The only reason we’re wearing ours is because we’re seeking retribution for the slight. That’s the code. They can’t hold anything we find against us, so long as the evidence is there. Unless they want to look like bigger asses. The fragility of the peace between the nations is disconcerting.”

I frowned and stirred whatever Hikari was cooking, then pulled out a few fired and glazed clay cups and started to prep them for tea, putting Yoichi’s personal black and spiced tea blend into the cups. They were good for sleep. I’d noticed the difference. They also kept you from waking up at anything less than alert. Hikari and Suzumi talked a little bit about more complex hand to hand combat, and I prepped tea and kept the food going, then served that on our tin plates when it was ready, then stood and went to find a stream. No one stopped me.

The forest was quiet and pretty. I half expected it to be like the Leaf Village’s forest, but the trees were different. We had Japanese Maple. These trees looked like Oak. Maybe Birch and Elm interspersed. I wandered lazily, marking a tree with a kunai every now and then so that I could find my way back, but I also had a compass just in case. The forest was quiet, and now that the sun was down, it was starting to cool off a little. Not much longer and the days would be much warmer. Maybe it’d even snow. I was lost in my thoughts when I overheard something… strange. It sounded like a muffled scream. I immediately flashed through hand signs. I didn’t even say the words and activated my Shadow Flesh Jutsu, blending with the night. I then pulled my sword and started through the woods where I heard the sound. It didn’t take me long. Another camp site. We were maybe a twenty minute walk from my own. What was worse, they were already dead.

I glanced around, getting my bearings. A dead old man and woman, and a dead older man in maybe his forties. The men had throats slit, and from where they were sitting, I’d say they were enjoying the fire and talking. The old woman had a puncture wound through her abdomen. Worse, there was struggling coming from the tent. I didn’t like that. There was a whumpf, then a man yelled, and a woman took off out of the tent dressed in nothing but a torn-up pair of underwear, and she was immediately close lined by a guy that appeared out of nowhere. He was a big brute, easily twice my size with tombstone teeth.

“What’s the matter, Umino? You can’t take a woman?” the man asked.

The other, Umino, walked out of the tent, pulling a kunai out of her arm. “Well, I was gonna let her live, but after that, I think I’ll kill her when I’m done.” He was smaller than the big man, but still bigger than me. I wasn’t really known for my stature. I was known for my lack of it, actually. I stopped growing at five feet. I was waiting for that last growth spurt. This Umino had black spiky hair and a hawkish nose. Worse, I may be young, but I’m not stupid, and I couldn’t let it happen. I dropped my jutsu, signed quickly, then dropped and extended my shadows, catching them both.

“What the hell?” The big man asked.

“Bozu, I can’t move.”

I walked out of the forest, and they were compelled to walk towards me. “Who the hell are you?” Bozu asked me. I kept walking, going past them, then stooped down, keeping my hand sign up, and keeping the jutsu intact. I crouched next to the woman. “Excuse me ma’am? Are you okay?”

She opened her eyes, then scrambled away from me, covering herself. “Who are you!?”

“Relax. My name is Kagetora. I’m gonna help you. I just need to take care of these two.” I then looked back. I’d timed and gotten their positions just right, and walked forward a little more, then threw my head forward as hard as I could. I was headbutting the air, but I dropped the jutsu at the last minute so as to not hurt myself. The men didn’t headbutt the air. They thunked, and both of them knocked themselves out on trees. I wasted no time, taking off my spare jacket and handing it to her. She shrunk from me, but then took it and turned from me, putting it on.

“I can’t spare any pants, but do me a favor. Grab your shoes and run down the road. There’s a group of people camping. Two women and a man. One of the women has white hair and very pale skin. Tell them that I ran into trouble, and I need them immediately, and I need rope.”

“Right, rope. Kagetora?”

“That’s right.”

She nodded. “Naomi.”

“Nice to meet you. Go. I want them tied up before they wake up.”

Naomi nodded, went into the tent and pulled on some shoes, then ran off down the direction I had sent her. I gave it a fifty-fifty that she didn’t just cut her chances and run away from the mystery ninja in the woods. Still though, she looked great running away regardless. I hated myself for feeling that way immediately.


	9. Naomi Sato, Friend or Foe?

I was surprised when all of them came running back, and thankfully Yoichi had rope. I had a seat on a stump watching the two and waved as they approached then pointed at the two as soon as they got within hearing range. Yoichi corrected his course. He wasn’t ogling Naomi like I had been. I don’t think the guy even cared sometimes. “What’d you do to them?” he asked.

“Concussed them, hopefully,” I said, standing. Naomi paused next to the tent.

“You got clothes in there?”

“Yes.”

Hikari nodded and went in the tent while Suzumi and Yoichi tied up our friends. I frowned at the bodies then got up and wrapped my arms under their arms, dragging them out of sight. It was the best I could do for closure. Once the old woman was moved where she had been killed in the doorway, Naomi stepped in and the tent flap closed. I was guessing they were getting dressed. Show was over, but I kinda wished it had never started. Bandits were pigs. These men were likely bandits.

“Good work, Tora. It’s lucky you left when you did. Naomi had said that if you had been a few seconds later…”

“Yeah, let’s not talk about it.” I glanced over at the dead bodies. Suzumi nodded, and she and Yoichi hoisted the men up and tied them together, they each grabbed an end of the rope and started pulling. I sat back on the stump. The tent flap opened and Hikari came out, followed by Naomi. She was wearing basic travelling clothes.

“Kagetora Nara, I am Naomi Sato…” she said, then put her fists together and bowed deeply. “I am in your debt for protecting my life. Say the word, and it shall be yours.”

Hikari was watching me suspiciously. I really wasn’t that bad. Come on, Hikari. She’s just pretty. “Sure, how about you come back to our camp and have a cup of tea with me, and we can sort this out.”

Naomi very much didn’t want to do that, but bowed anyway. “As you request. I feel that I must inform you that I am a woman of little means, and I have no desire to...”

I frowned and cut her off. “That’s supposed to matter to me? No offense, Ms. Sato, and not to injure your already wounded pride or belittle your pain, but you're now a woman travelling alone, and your means or your desires matter very little to other highwaymen. We’re ninjas. I’m offering you safety.” I stood. “Now come on. It’s getting cold.”

“Oh,” she said, then handed me back my jacket. It was folded and she offered it to me like it was a gift. I took it and put it back on. It was just like my other one, but devoid of any clan identifiers. I turned and headed back to camp and she followed me. Hikari stayed behind to make sure she didn’t try to stick a kunai in my back. The goons were already tied to a tree just off the path. I sat back on the ground where I had been before my walk, and there was a bowl of food ready for me. Cold now, but it was Ramen, so I added a little of the boiling water from the kettle that had been left in a rush and set the kettle to the side to cool, then stirred the bowl. Ramen was great for travelling. It kept for a long time, and you could freeze-dry the ingredients ahead of time so that they’d stay good and when you recooked them and they tasted the same. Sure, it looked a little shriveled, but it was still delicious. Yoichi, ever the nice guy, broke into another portion bag and prepped another bowl for our guest, Ms. Sato.

Portion bags were the thing that made Yoichi’s family famous. All of the Yuhi were fantastic cooks, and they designed a system to portion out rations into bags so that you could get the maximum nutritional potential and not waste any extra food that you couldn’t take with you once it was cooked. It wasn’t universal for all appetites, but it was one size fits most with families like the Yakimichis having their own sizes. Then the Yuhi would distribute them to ninja squads and that’s how they contributed to the village. It was a great idea, and because Yoichi was on our team he was always able to palm a little extra, so we had the rations to spare.

“Are you hungry, Ms. Sato?” he asked.

“I won’t turn away an offered meal.”

He nodded then took the kettle and poured it into the bowl he’d prepared, then stirred it. “In about seven minutes it’ll be good to eat. It’s military rations, but it will keep you fed, and it’s better than an MRE or food pill,” he said, sliding the tin bowl over. She took it with a tilt of her head.

“You’re all very kind. Most soldiers wouldn’t even bat an eye to help me.”

“Yeah, we’re not soldiers,” I said, leaning back. “We’re ninja from the Leaf Village, and we’re here on a mission.”

She nodded. “Well thank you Leaf Village ninja. I’m just a poor farmer’s daughter. I was on my way to my wedding with my family.”

“You’re so young though. What are you, twenty?”

“Twenty One. You look a little young to be a ninja.”

“Age of adulthood is sixteen in the Hidden Leaf Village. I’m seventeen. Yoichi is twenty.”

“That explains a good amount.”

“Does it?”

“Your arrogance.”

That made me blink. Hell, it made Yoichi blink, and he didn’t usually get surprised like that.

“Don’t get me wrong Kagetora, I’m happy that you came along when you did, but what would have happened if you didn’t catch those two by surprise?”

She had a point. As good at stealth as I was, my combat was par at best. I probably could have taken one, but not two. Not on my own. That’s why ninja squads were four people. For backup.

“I’m sorry. That was rude,” she said, then looked at her bowl. “I should be grateful, I suppose, that I at least survived, but you weren’t there to save the rest of them. My father. My grandparents. They’re dead. All I have left is a dowry and a betrothal to a man I don’t even know.”

I watched her for a moment. Was she trying to play us while the women were away? That didn’t track. Hikari and Suzumi weren’t away. They were talking quietly about something else. I didn’t buy for a minute that her family were farmers. She wouldn’t be betrothed to someone not of her village if that was the case.

“Who’s your betrothed?” Yoichi asked. Guess he was following the same track I was.

“Another farmer in the Land of Fire. No big deal.”

It clicked. “What did you say your name was?”

She frowned. “Naomi Sato?”

“Are you sure it’s not Naomi Saito?”

She frowned. Bingo. I knew who she was. This just got a lot more complicated.

“Sensei, let’s wake our prisoners up. I want to know why they ambushed the Daimyo’s fiancee on her way to him,” I said, standing. Her jaw dropped. “Sorry, Ms. Saito, but The Leaf Village is square in the middle of the Land of Fire, and I pay attention to current events. Hikari?”

Hikari was already moving. “Let’s talk, Ms. Saito.”

I nodded then stood and made my way over to the prisoners. This was getting really complicated, and I felt like we were only scratching the surface. A Daimyo’s fiancee, and the Land of Fire’s no less? That made this whole thing suspect. There was a reason we came here. Coming across her, while a coincidence, was no accident. It was connected somehow, and until we could figure out that connection it was better to keep an eye on her. Hikari knew that. Yoichi glanced at me. I knew those eyes. I shook my head and looked at Naomi, and he nodded, then took another bite of his ramen. I picked up my bowl on the way to our guests. I had an idea.

“What are you doing, Kagetora?” Suzumi asked, following me.

“Creative leverage, sensei.”

“You’re a monster,” she said with a grin.

“That’s why you like me.” I said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry posting has been sporadic at best. I've been having some life problems, but I have a working alarm now so I should be posting at a regular rate, now. Thanks for sticking with it.


	10. Bozu and Umino

I kicked the little one, Umino, in the ribs, and he woke up. I then wafted the bowl of ramen under the big one’s nose. He too started to stir. Then I sat on the ground and got out my chopsticks, said a silent prayer, and started to eat. I ate noisily too. Ramen is best when you slurp it obnoxiously.

“The fuck, kid?” said Umino.

“Hold on. I’m hungry,” I responded, slurping noisily still. “I didn’t have time for dinner.”

Bozu glanced at Umino. I continued to eat, doing my best to smile while I did. Nothing beat ramen. I was more of a sushi person, really, or barbecue, but ramen was okay. Yoichi actually made this package. I could tell. His was always just a little better. When I was halfway finished, I stopped and looked at the prisoners. “Oh sorry, y’all want some?”

They both glared at me, but I heard at least one stomach growl, so I smiled. “Well, Don’t let me hoard it all,” I said and stood, then placed the bowl on the ground between them where they’d see it and smell it. “Here. Dig in.”

They looked at it, then each other, then glared at me again.

“Oh right. You’re tied up. I also don’t know if there’s enough for both of you. Here’s an idea though! I have questions, and whoever answers them first gets untied first, and therefore gets the ramen.”

“NIce try kid, but we…” Umino started, then Bozu cut in. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”  
“Bozu!”

“What? This is obviously a setup. We’re out of our league, Umino. If we don’t talk, they kill us.”

“They wouldn’t kill us. That’s not how ninja work.”

“Look at their headbands!”

I did my best to hide my expression. Nasty rumors about the Leaf, huh? I poked my headband. “Leaf Village. What’s it mean to you?”

“Shit,” Umino said. “Look, it was just a job. Don’t kill us. It wasn’t personal.”

“Then talk. What’s the Leaf to you? I’m curious what others think.”

“The… The village Hidden in the Leaves is ruthless. They kill people just for looking at them funny. You’re the most ruthless of the Shinobi villages, and to graduate… you have to kill your classmates.”

Curious. That was a Mist Village thing, and they didn’t do that anymore. I kept my face expressionless. I guess it added to the image.

“There’s more than that.” Suzumi said, and she ran her hand across my back and down my shoulder. I did my best not to look at her like she was insane. That was intimate and I wasn’t here for it. “Tora didn’t used to be called that. Do you want to know how he got that name?” She crouched down, wrapping her arms around me. I was definitely uncomfortable, and about jumped out of my skin when she kissed my neck. Stay calm. Sensei has a plan. “He got it for using the Black Tiger Style of Taijutsu to kill three of his fellow classmates in three on one combat. We call him Tora now, in honor of that achievement,” She buried her face in my hair, and I heard her whisper. It was barely audible.

“This is gross, but play along.”

“Well, you can’t go giving all of my secrets away, Suzumi-sensei,” I said, and she bowed her head slightly in apology. “But I guess now you know. I tell you what, boys. You talk, and you live. Now tell me, why are you attacking the Land of Fire’s daimyo’s fiancee?”

“I told you! I told you back home that it was a bad idea!” Umino said, yelling at Bozu.

“It was easy money, Umino! We don’t have the pantry to stall and be picky!”

“Hey!” I shouted, and they both clammed up and looked at me. I blinked.

“Right, sorry. It was a job that someone in our home, the Village of Flowers, had offered. A simple C-Rank mission, and we’d qualify as full Shinobi if we pulled it off too. Go kill the girl and all of her family.”

“And they neglected to mention that she was the second daughter of the Daimyo of the Land of Greens?”

“We only ever saw the first. There’s not much resemblance, because the moms are different.”

“Okay, so who gave you the mission?”

“The Hanakage of the Village of Flowers.”

I nodded, then walked forward and pulled my sword. They both started panicking and Hikari glanced over at us. I picked up the ramen bowl, then swung my sword. Bozu screamed as his ropes loosened. I frowned and shoved the bowl at him. He blinked and took it. “Eat, then get out of here. Find a new line of work. Bandits make poor ninja.”  
He blinked at me then looked over at Umino.

“There’s more. Everything you’ve heard about the Leaf is a lie. We were playing you. That graduation was a Mist Village thing, and they don’t do it anymore. No one does. Who told you?”

He blinked at me. “The Leaf’s Shadow. He talked with our Hanakage.”

“Who’s that?”

Bozu started slurping down the ramen. “A Leaf ninja. He had the headband. He also killed a lot of people in town before he left. Never gave a reason.”

“Odd. What’d he look like?”

“Well, he wore his headband down over his left eye, and he wore a face mask.”

I frowned and looked back at Suzumi. That sounded familiar. “Did he ever remove the headband?

“Just once, before he started killing. He slid it up, and there was a vertical scar that ran across his eye, and the eye, it wasn’t right. Not normal. It was red, and it had some black spots. I thought it was a dojutsu.”

Now I was starting to panic. “Was his name Kakashi, by chance?”

“Actually, yeah.”

“That’s bullshit. Kakashi would never…” Suzumi began.

“I said what I said, lady. I heard him. I’m not saying it’s him, but I’m saying that whoever it was, we were meant to think it was him.” He set the bowl down. “What are you doin’ with Umino?”

“You care about him?” I asked.

“Honor among thieves. I don’t much like him, but I came here with him. We’re a team.”

“Admirable as that may be, Bozu, he tried to rape a woman. My suggestion is that you chalk this up as a loss and start walking in any direction that keeps you away from the Land of Flowers. I’m reporting him to the police, and I’m gonna tell them about you too. If they catch you here, you’re done. Get out of here, Bozu. You’re better than this, and you’re smart.”

He shrugged, then put his hands in his pockets and started walking away.

“Bozu, you coward!” Umino shouted.

“Sorry, Umino. I didn’t want the job, and I told you that. You also took it too far. The kid is right. I gotta cut my losses,” He said, then disappeared into the forest.

“BOZU!” Umino shouted.

“What should we do with him?” I asked, looking at Suzumi. She walked over with a Kunai and carved into the tree above him. “Bandit. Police on the way.”

“There. That will keep him here. Let’s get some sleep.”

“Think we should feed him?”

“Nah. We have limited rations. Let him suffer. I don’t have much patience for rapists.”

“Well said,” I said, and we turned and started walking away. “By the way, don’t ever kiss me or touch me like that again.”

“What’s wrong, Tora? Can’t stand the attention of an older woman?”

“You’re five years older than me, first off. Second, you’re my teacher.”

She laughed. “Fair. If I start acting strange like that again, just go with it, alright? Trust me.”

“Alright. It was just creepy. You’re my teacher.”

“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t,” she said under her breath, and I don’t think I was supposed to hear it, so I didn’t emote, but that was worrying. We got back to the camp.

“So how’d that go?” Yoichi asked, and Naomi blinked at him. “I thought you were mute or something.”

“Yoichi doesn’t talk much. It went fine. Our next destination is the Hanakage in the Land of Flowers. We’ll drop Ms. Saito back off at home in the Land of Greens on our way,” Suzumi said.

“I’d rather you not. My father was willing to sell me off to the highest bidder,” Naomi said.

“What are we supposed to do?” I asked.

“We were talking about that. Maybe we can take her with us back to the Leaf? If she’s seeking asylum, she’d make a good advisor for the Hokage. She is well versed in politics,” Yoichi said.

“You want to wander around with the daughter of a Daimyo? She’s kinda high profile.”

“I don’t bring nothing. I have my dowry, and I have my own defensive skills. I give my dowry to pay for expenses and to be paid into the Leaf Village.” She offered me a bag. I took it and opened it, and closed it immediately and handed it to Suzumi. Suzumi looked at it funny then opened it and her eyes shone. “This is a dowry fit for…”

“A Daimyo. It’s exactly what you think it is. They’re real.”

Suzumi reached into a bag and pulled out a smattering of colored gems that shone in the firelight. Gems. It was a bag of expensive jewels. The Leaf Village could use that money, especially to pay the contractors that were working on it. It was worth enough to fill the treasury out of the red again.

“I guess we have no choice. Welcome to the team. I hope you don’t mind Hikari’s snoring,” Suzumi said.

“That’s Kagetora!” Hikari said, turning red.

“Snoring is a sign of restfulness, but we need to discuss arrangements, because Tora’s tent is the only one with room in it,” Yoichi said.

“I’m not a creep! I can keep my hands to myself. What is with y’all? Besides, I have Hinata at home. I’m not an animal.”

“That’s not the problem, Tora,” Yoichi said with a small smile. “It’s not a matter of trust, it’s one of propriety.”

“It’s okay,” Naomi said. “Like I said, I trust Tora, and he seems to be a skilled fighter. I think it might be better if I shared a tent with him so that he can get to my aid quickly if we’re attacked.”

“And we can all act like adults. Now let’s get to bed. We’ve been up too late already, and we have a long trip to the Land of Flowers.”

“Man, I was looking forward to a hot bath,” Hikari said, standing. Yoichi passed out the cups with his hot tea and we all drank them, then he upturned the kettle, splashing it over the fire. It wouldn’t kill the embers, but it put out the flames and made the wood wet so it wouldn’t reignite. We all then went to bed. True to my word, I didn’t pay attention to Naomi at all, taking my shirt off then crawling into my blanket nest. Naomi watched me, then unfolded her blankets perpendicular from mine and layed down, facing me. It’s not that I didn’t like her. She was fine. I didn’t like being lied to.

On one hand, it made sense. She was very valuable and carried a lot of money. Of course she lied. On the other, I stuck my neck out for her. I rolled and looked away from her, trying to get some sleep. I could dwell on it in the morning. I needed to rest. It would have been easier had I not felt her eyes drilling into me. What did she want?  
I rolled over thirty minutes or so later, and her eyes were shut, but she had a small smile. Odd. Guess it was a good dream. I felt myself drift on and didn’t bother trying to stop it.

Time for sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Smash that kudos button if you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome but not required. I can only get better if I have feedback and I'm not strong in this fandom.


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